After the throne speech, a group of seniors and their families joined NDP leader Carla Beck.The NDP criticized the Sask Party government for discussing housing issues even though many seniors were forced out of their provincially-regulated homes this week. The NDP also criticized the government for no new healthcare solutions and the affordability crisis.“This is a Sask Party government that can’t be trusted. Scott Moe ran on lower power bills, then increased them three times. I think governments should be measured on the results they deliver, not the promises they make,” said Beck. “If Scott Moe was more focused on fixing issues than scoring cheap headlines, maybe we’d be somewhere.”“There’s an emergency in our emergency rooms and Moe still hasn’t come forward with any game-changing solutions for healthcare,” said Beck. “Moe says he’s concerned about housing, yet his government sat on its hands as dozens of seniors were thrown out of their homes this last week. The rising cost of living and healthcare crisis are clearly not priorities for this government.” The families of older people staying at Parkview Villa and Princess Villa, which are controlled by the province, are in a rush to find new places for their parents and grandparents to live. This is because the long-term care homes said they would be closing down and this announcement was made on Tuesday.Another seniors home Precious Memories Villa suddenly told families on Friday that they had only 72 hours to move their loved ones out.“We’ve seen this government act with lightning speed to fix much less important issues before. Good affordable housing and the health and wellbeing of our parents and grandparents should be a top priority,” said Matt Love, NDP Critic for Seniors and for Rural and Remote Health. “Our parents and grandparents built this province, and the least the government can do is help them live their golden years to the fullest and ensure our hospitals work.” According to Love, it takes around 53 days on average in Regina to get a bed at a long-term care centre. This is about two and a half times longer than the average waiting time in the province. Because of these long wait times, many seniors stay in hospitals for a long time while waiting for a spot in a long-term care centre.Canadian Institute for Health Information says that Saskatchewan has the longest wait times for surgeries by a significant margin compared to other parts of Canada.Last year in Saskatchewan, the typical wait time for knee replacements was 466 days, with the Canadian average of 198 days. The next worst province for wait times was Manitoba at 336 days.In Saskatchewan, the usual wait time for hip replacements was 309 days last year. This is longer than any other province and almost double the national average of 164 days.The NDP also criticized the Throne Speech for not addressing overcrowded urban emergency rooms or preventing rural emergency room closures, like the recent one in Radville.
